BRYAN DAVIS, in his recent column in the Catholic News, has slammed the Trinidad and Tobago cricket team batsmen after their dismal showing against Barbados in the recent Regional Four-Day Tournament contest at the Queen’s Park Oval on April 10-11.

Trinidad and Tobago, who decided to bat first upon winning the toss, made 109 and 129 while Barbados responded with 194 and 45 without loss.

Davis began, “the horrendous batting display by the Trinidad and Tobago cricket team in their four-day regional game against Barbados leaves this columnist at a loss for words! Those wending their way to the wicket after the fall of a colleague seemed to lack determination and purpose.

“Only Imran Khan, the leg spinning all-rounder, had the resolve to fight and face the batting challenge head-on in both innings,” he continued.

Davis, the former TT and West Indies opening batsman, stated, “the understanding that what was needed was for them to dig in and graft for runs – and that there was no need for flourishing stroke-play — was missing among the supposedly better batsmen of the team!

“One has to be aware of the surface on which the game is taking place, be able to read the state of the game then deal with it in an intelligent manner, always remembering that a true batsman strives for his best for his team under any conditions.”

While acknowledging that Trinidad and Tobago entered the game already assured of a place in the May 2-5 semi-finals, Davis pointed out, “the way I see it, the lack of motivation emanated from the dressing room, which is where players are usually energised and motivated to win. This is led usually by the captain (Denesh Ramdin) and the coach (David Williams), both sharing the responsibility to encourage, inspire and stimulate the team.”

Davis wrote, “our semi-final game is against Jamaica in Jamaica, a country that has beaten us coming and going over the last few years in the four-day game; on the other hand, the TT cricketers have consistently whipped them in the shorter affairs.

“At Sabina Park, Jamaica, we lost in three days, hiccupping to 121 all out in the first innings and see-sawing to 192 in the second. In their first four-day game of the season against the Windward Islands, the TT batting collapsed in a heap for 84 in the second innings and they lost the match in three days.

“And, this was against a team that manager Omar Khan had said was one that TT would be targeting for full points. We lost three matches outright, two in three days and one in two days.”

Following the debacle at the Oval against Barbados, Davis wondered if Williams was “summoned by the TTCB (TT Cricket Board) president (Azim Bassarath) to give an account of his team’s very bad batting and to explain just why the nation’s cricketers’ standard of play is so low. The coach is the one with the answers. If he can’t explain, then who can?”

He ended, “to improve the team’s batting performance at this stage, they must spend some long hours in net practice to build concentration and shot selection. The coach is the one to introduce this, as well as a strong dose of motivation!”